Gator skull mount

[hunterjw]

My son and I killed a 9’ gator here in Florida last weekend. I’ve got it skinned and froze the head. He wants a skull mount of the gator.
Best diy technique for that? I’d prefer not to boil.
I’ve heard stick them in a bin of water for a few months. Put in a pond. Thoughts? I’d prefer to have a method the teeth don’t fall out. (Heard boiling makes brittle)

[SCmudder7071]

Idk about brittle, but we've been boiling the last few heads of the gators we've killed and not the first tooth has fell out. Clean as much as possible and drop it in.

We might just be getting lucky so knock on wood.

[BEAR]

You soak it in a tub of water a few weeks, not to mention a few months, you’ll have a rotten, rank tub of maggot infested water with a pile of bones settled into the bottom. I’m no expert, but I know from experience that what I said above will happen.

[2thDoc]

i'd buy one while in florida

[hunterjw]

i'd buy one while in florida

I live in Florida
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[Rubberhead*]

I live in Florida
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I have often thought about a boat like that, painted properly, would be a great coastal SC duck rig.

[willk]

I live in Florida
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Nice boat. I'm wanting to put in a build order with Ankona around the first of the year.

[Hoggin]

Taxidermist

[Duck cutter]

Based on my experience with deer heads, prep work is key.
As scmudder said clean it good first and limit the amount of time you boil it and you should be good.

Protip: don’t fool with pressure washing it at the house, just ride by the car wash and spend $1.25 there and then wash the crap drown the drain. You might get some weird looks but no one has stopped me from doing it yet

[BuckyTownsend]

drop that sucker in a big ol ant bed

[ADP]

drop that sucker in a big ol ant bed

I've always wanted to try that method.

[Palmetto Bug]

drop that sucker in a big ol ant bed

Wives' tale.

[Islandguy85]

Wives' tale.

Tried it with a smaller one and it didn’t work out. Destroyed it.
Also had a deer head in one once and cabled to base of tree around rack. Dog came along and chewed the rack off which was a big drop on one side and a ball the size of a baseball hanging alongside the ear. Found it about 25yds from where I had it cabled down.


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[Phone Man]

love that boat

[hunterjw]

Thanks. It is a salt marsh 1656. Had for 5 years now. I take it gator hunting, duck hunting, redfishing etc

[mudflat]

I boiled one and teeth cracked and fell out. Skull came clean though.

[Palmetto Bug]

I did the barrel in a pond method. The teeth did indeed fall out and I had to glue them back in but the skull still came out looking good enough for me. It looked good enough that my wife was even in favor of displaying it in one of the window sills. Gator skulls are stitched together very well. Not only will teeth get loose, the whole thing needs to be handled with kid gloves.

I've been doing the pond cleaning method on deer skull "mounts" too. I don't need another head or skull to hang but I just can't make myself throw away a decent rack so I tie a rope to it and pitch it in one of the ponds for a few weeks. They get a bit stained and could use bleaching, if I cared enough.

[BugBuster]

I have a 12’6 euro mount in my office that looks awesome

[YoungBuckTX]

Have a taxidermist do it correctly for 200$ and be done with it

[Rubberhead*]

I did my son's. Lightly "cooked" it in a water and dish soap until the skin and meat were loose about an hour at less than a boil. I used wire to clean the pores and sockets. Then bleached it with hair bleach I got at a professional salon supply. I boiled it too hard during the bleaching so some of the teeth came out and the bones separated so I had to glue some stuff back together. It wasn't a bad finished product but I'll do a much better job next time.